There are 3 groups of people who should never do sublimation. Are you one of them?

People who have absolutely no interest in sublimation.

Hey, I’m not here to convince you to do something you have no interest in. If you aren’t interested in a way to decorate thousands of items in full photo-realistic color easily and quickly at high profit margins – who am I to suggest otherwise?

People who have no creativity.

While practically everyone has some level of creativity out there including most who think they don’t, there are a handful of people that just have no imagination at all. If you can’t take a picture of your cat, write a sentence, or print something, then sublimation probably isn’t for you.

People who cannot use a computer.

Let’s face it, not everyone is a computer nerd. Not everyone wants to be, and thankfully, no one has to be. Most people have at least had limited exposure to computers on some level. However, if you are one of those who prefer to avoid such modern contrivances in favor of more conventional means like pen and paper, then you probably shouldn’t do sublimation.

If you don’t fall into one of the above groups, then read on, this article is for you.

Sublimation is EASY. That’s right, EASY, in all CAPS. People get hung up all the time on the word “sublimation” and the definition, because it sounds scientific and complicated, which apparently makes it so intimidating that people will sometimes buy a sublimation system and then store it in a corner and look at it periodically, too afraid to even open the box. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Ok, so “sublimation” IS scientific and complicated – but you don’t actually need to know any of that, any more than you need to know what science is behind the print-head and the electronics inside your printer that make it work to print pictures of your children, pets, or a business plan for that great idea for a sublimation business.

When you print something, you don’t think about printing – you just print, right? Sublimation is like that too. In fact, printing is the first step in the process, so if you have already printed something, you already know what to do. Not very intimidating is it?

Sublimation is FUN. Here again, FUN in all CAPS. You should enjoy what you do, and if you can make money at it, that’s even better. Sublimation is fun because you are limited only by your imagination. If you can imagine something and print it, then you can put it (sublimate it) onto one or more of the thousands of blank items just waiting for your sublimativity (sublimation + creativity; I just made that up – feel free to credit me).

Once you’ve sublimated something, you can sell it and make money. Putting the image you printed onto a sublimation blank is the second step in the process, which usually involves a heat press. Doing all that IS fun, and not very intimidating either.

Sublimation is PROFITABLE. Yes, I know, to be redundant, PROFITABLE in all CAPS. That’s because the margins can be quite astounding. Where else can you start up a business for under $2000 (and in some cases, even under $700!), have fun doing it, and make anywhere from 2 to 6 times your cost, typically on the higher end of that range? For the mathematically challenged, that means if you have a product that costs you $3, including the cost of the ink and paper and your time, you can sell it for $6 to $18.

Oh, and did I mention that from the point in time you decide to embark on a sublimation journey until you will be making products to sell can be as quick as 1 day? Contact us for more information and if you have any questions.

This introductory article is broad in scope, but future articles will expand some of the individual points mentioned into their own articles.

Tom Chambers is EnMart’s sublimation guru, the guide and mentor regarding all things sublimation. Tom was instrumental in introducing inkjet sublimation to industrial laundries, and has been working with the process since the early days of thermal ribbon sublimation.

Hi Kamel, glad you liked the article. I don’t coat my own tiles, but we do sell blank tiles that are already coated. There are sprays available that will allow you to coat your own though. I don’t use them myself because you can’t get consistent results or even, smooth coatings, plus I find them to be a lot of extra work. To do a proper coating on anything for sublimation you need some expensive equipment.

For the best, quickest results, I recommend purchasing blank tiles that are already coated. If you do coat your own tiles, by the time you achieve acceptable results, you’d have so much time in it that they would be more expensive than just buying something already coated. The one exception to this would be products that you can’t find already coated for sublimation. Good luck, and thanks for reading. -Tom